Faculty
Alexa M. Mieses – Owner/Director
Ballet / Pointe / Classical Variations / EBAS
Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Alexa began her training in classical ballet at a very early age at the Academia de Ballet Tanya under the direction of Tanya Beléndez. Throughout the years, she has had the opportunity to train with such master teachers of classical ballet, flamenco, pointe, partnering, character, jazz, and Broadway techniques as Ballet Teatro Municipal de San Juan under the direction of Vanessa Ortiz; Diana Pérez, Nahir Medina, and Rosario Galán; Eglevsky Ballet Company under the instruction of Jane Miller, Michael Vernon, Elizabeta Calero, and Nahir Medina; Ballet Austin in Texas and at The University of Wisconsin in Madison. Alexa has been invited to perform as a guest artist for Ballet Teatro Municipal de San Juan, Compañia de Baile Moderno in Puerto Rico, as well as a soloist for the Jacksonville Ballet Theater (JBT) under the direction of Dulce Anaya. She has also performed locally in Jacksonville’s Community Nutcracker.
Alexa began teaching ballet at the age of fourteen and has taught dance in Jacksonville since 2006. She taught ballet for seven years at Boleros Cultural Arts Center for the Theater Dance Department and has also been a guest ballet instructor for The Bean School of Dance in Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville Ballet Theater. In 2010, Alexa developed her own specific outreach ballet program for pre-schools throughout the Jacksonville community. Alexa brings her talent, training, experience, and passion for dance to students of all ages. Moreover, Alexa is proud to be the President and Co-Founder of the Alius Dance School and is a Certified Level I Instructor for Scott Putman’s Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS).
While pursuing her love of dance, Alexa’s personal achievements also include a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Structural) from the University of Texas at Austin. Alexa holds a Professional Engineer License in the state of Florida. She is also a devoted wife and proud mother of two wonderful boys, Diego and Sergio.
Check Mrs. Alexa’s schedule here for open classes, private ballet, and coaching opportunities with her..
Sara Hamlin – Lead Teacher
Ballet/ Tap / Jazz
Ms. Sara was born in London, England where she studied at Ballet Rambert. Ms. Sara also modeled in London and appeared in Vogue magazine. After she moved to America, she continued her dance education by taking classes at Boston Ballet School, Rochester School of Ballet, Gainesville City Ballet, Turning Point Dance, and East Coast Ballet before finally finding a home at Alius Dance School.
Ms. Sara also built up the after-school dance program at several schools in St. John’s county including Durban Creek, Hickory Creek, and Julington Creek Elementary Schools. She has also choreographed and presented end-of-year showcases in Jacksonville for the last seventeen years. Ms. Sara is an experienced dance instructor in the areas of primary ballet, tap, and jazz. Ms. Sara has also worked with students to help them gain admission to magnet dance schools and to enter elite dance competitions.
As well as enthusiasm and patience, Ms. Sara brings a sincere wish for all her students to enjoy and excel in the art of dance.
Lynsey Givens
Ballet/ Pointe/Modern
Lyndsey is a native of Jacksonville, who began her dance career at the age of 7. In 2017, she began her formal ballet training at The Florida Ballet Training Center. She became a full-time Conservatory Student in 2018.
During the 2019-2020 season, she danced as a Trainee at The Florida Ballet and graduated from high school. Some of her performances during that season included: Roberto Forleo’s, Creatures of Prometheus, The Florida Ballet Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Clans and Flings, and La Boutique Fantasque.
Lyndsey competed in the Semi-Finals of Youth American Grand Prix in 2017 (Tampa), 2018 (Tampa), and 2019 (Atlanta), where she advanced to the Finals in New York City in 2019 with a contemporary duet under the direction of Diedre Miles-Burger and Susie Dodge. She previously attended summer intensives at ABT Tampa in 2018 and the Sarasota Ballet in 2019. Lyndsey is proud to be a member of The Florida Ballet Company under the direction of Roberto Forleo.
Lyndsey is excited to be teaching at Alius Dance School this season!
Josef Wollitz
Ballet/ Contemporary
Josef began studying dance at the age of 8. At the age of 12, he began training with the Florida Ballet in Jacksonville Florida. During his freshman year of high school, Josef attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts to pursue a dance career, as well as The Florida Ballet Conservatory where he trained with Christopher Alloways-Ramsey.
In 2019, he competed in The Youth American Grand Prix coached by Deidre Miles Burger and Susie Dodge placing 3rd with his classical variation. He was invited to the finals in New York City to present his contemporary duet. In the summer of 2019, he went to Houston Ballet and trained under Claudio Munez and concluded the year at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with instructors Simon Ball, Darla Hoover, and Renato Penteado.
Josef is proud to be a member of The Florida Ballet Company under the direction of Roberto Forleo. Josef is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
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GUEST TEACHERS
Trenton “TJ” Shakespeare
Hip-hop Teacher
Trenton TJ Shakespeare is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. He is a laid-back guy that transforms into an energetic, swagged-out, powerhouse performer. Born from the streets of dance at Florida State University (Kollage Dance Troupe), he lives through hip hop and urban movements. His style is energy-driven, sharp, hard-hitting intricate movements, infused with style and swag grooves. He has been choreographing for 10 years and is in his 7th year as a dance studio instructor.
Trenton is co-founder & co-director of i-Move U-Move Dance Workshop Series, currently active as co-director and dancer in WreckLess Dance Crew, co-director of Da Hype Fam (2 Hype, Lil Hype & Mini Hype), ImmaBeast and a trainee for ImmaBreathe (2 years). He toured the United States with The Greatest Love of All: The Whitney Houston Tribute Show (2018 & 2019). He has been a guest choreographer for Lavilla School of the Arts and the Jacksonville Shark Attack Dance team for 4 years consecutively. He has choreographed for the Terry Parker Braves Varsity Cheerleading Squad for 2 years earning the Best Choreography award in 2014. He’s taken 1st Class Athletics to World’s Dance Competition 2015 and Bollywood Dance Mania Juniors to Nationals 2015. Recently 2 Hype won 1st place overall and top style at Revel Nationals 2019. He is also the choreographer for young artist Will Harden & The PrimeTime Dancers who are currently working on his Stop The Violence Tour. His works have been presented in Florida, Atlanta, New York City, and Paris, France. He also produced a collaborative showcase, WreckLess Diamonds, with Mega Mind Productions (April 2017).
Trenton has trained through Kollage Dance Troupe (FSU-Tallahassee, FL), A Kavin Grant Productions (Jacksonville, FL), Mega Mind Productions (Jacksonville, FL), Spectrum Dance Factory (Jacksonville, FL), i-Move U-Move (Jacksonville, FL), Monsters of Hip Hop (Orlando, FL) 2016, 2017, 2018 and Monsters of Hip Hop Finale 2019 and Road to Build-A-Beast-Experience. He’s trained out in LA at various studios. He believes every time you dance is a chance to grow, reveal something about yourself, or speak directly into someone’s life. We are all connected and can grow from one another and he is spreading that love and message one dance at a time.
Abigail Bevill
Ballet / Tap / Jazz / Contemporary – Assistant teacher
Abigail started dancing at the age of 2. Since then, she has trained in multiple styles of dance including tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, acro, musical theater, and clogging. When she was 10, she started ballet and it quickly became her favorite dance style. She started dancing at Alius Dance School in 2018 after participating in the Great Russian Nutcracker in 2017 and has danced in every show and recital since. She has competed in many dance and ballet competitions over the years, the most recent being the Universal Ballet Competition (UBC) in Atlanta with Alius Dance School where she placed in the top 10 for her division for both classical ballet and contemporary dance styles. When began teaching, she started as an assistant teacher in 2016 at previous studios and began teaching at Alius Dance School in August of 2020.